1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a dental implant for securing a prosthesis to a jawbone of a patient, and more particularly to an improved rotary dental implant post for enabling rotation of a support for a prosthesis prior to the final mounting of the prosthesis.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Presently there exist many types of dental implants designed to enable a prosthesis such as a crown replacement to be rigidly secured tot he jawbone. Probably the most common type of dental implant consists of a threaded pin which is dimension ed to threadably engage the socket of a recently extracted tooth.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,589,011 and 4,234,309 and German No. 2,255,916 are illustrative examples of such threaded-type implants. The primary disadvantage to the threaded dental implants is the tendency to loosen within the socket. The dental implant then has to be removed and replaced by a larger diameter implant. For obvious reasons, these threaded type dental implants have not become widely accepted in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,033 discloses another type of dental implant which is designed to be inserted within the socket or alveolar cavity of a recently extracted tooth. This dental implant comprises two rods which are inserted into the socket and a plurality of fins and spacers are alternatively slipped onto the rods extending from the socket to achieve the desired height of the dental implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,896 discloses a threaded-type dental implant wherein a hardenable material is disposed in the jawbone socket prior to the dental implant being threaded therein. The filler material is an attempt to inhibit the dental implant from loosening within the socket of the extracted tooth.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,058 illustrates threaded-type dental implant which comprises a self-tapping conical screw. The tape of the self-tapping screw is designed to threadably engage the socket of the extracted tooth and then threadably engage the portion of the jawbone located immediately below the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,537 discloses a dental implant comprising a flat configuration with one or more holes extending obliquely therethrough. A threaded fastener is inserted through the oblique holes to threadably engage the lower portion of the lower jawbone thereby preventing rotation of the dental implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,915 discloses an improved dental implant wherein an implant anchor is implanted into a jawbone of a patient and a prosthesis support is subsequently secured to the implant anchor. This invention discloses a novel means for rotationally orientating the prosthesis support relative to the implant anchor.
It is a primary object of this invention to improve upon the advancement set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,915 by providing an improved means for rotationally orientating the prosthesis support relative to the implant anchor.
Another object of this invention is to provide a dental implant post which is rigidly secured to a dental implant and which provides a suitable rotational foundation for a prosthesis such as a crown.
Another object ot shis invention is to implant anchor through the implant post which provides a rotational orientation of a prosthesis support relative to the implant anchor through the use of simple, strong and efficient threaded fasteners.
Another object of this invention is to provide a dental implant post wherein stud threads cooperate with the bos threads and an undercut to provide a rotational orientation of a prosthesis support relative to the implant anchor.
Another object of this invention is to provide a dental implant post wherein a key cooperates with a keyway and an undercut to provide a rotational orientation of a prosthesis support relative to the implant anchor.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.